is a Japanese professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

Chiba Lotte Marines The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd. History The Marines franchise began in 1950 as the Mainichi Orions, an inaugural ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB). He previously played in NPB for the

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

and the

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railway ...

Professional career

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

On October 30, 2008, Niho was drafted as a developmental player by the

in the 2008

Nippon Professional Baseball draft The Nippon Professional Baseball Draft Meeting is a conference held by the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization (NPB) to select rookie players. The official name of the conference is the Rookie Selection Meeting. Since , the Grand Prince Hot ...

2009–2015

From 2009 to mid-2012, Niho played in informal matches against the

Shikoku Island League Plus The is an independent professional baseball league on the island of Shikoku in Japan. (None of the teams in Nippon Professional Baseball are based in Shikoku.) The league currently has four teams, and has its league headquarters in Takamatsu. Th ...

's teams and amateur baseball teams, and played in the Western League of NPB's second league. In November 2011, he became a free agent at the expiration of his contract according to the regulations of the developmental player system, but was re-signed. On July 30, 2012, he signed a 5 million yen re-contract with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks as a registered player under control. On September 13, Niho pitched his debut game against the

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping c ...

. In 2013, Niho recorded a 6.00 ERA in 5 games with Fukuoka, spending the majority of the year at the farm. He spent the entirety of the 2014 season at the farm, posting a 2.91 ERA in 33 games. On May 3, 2015, Niho recorded his first of the 2015 season. In 2015, he finished the regular season with a 6–1 record and 3.25 ERA to go along with 5 holds and 28 strikeouts in 52 2/3 innings across 44 appearances. Additionally, Niho won the

2015 Japan Series The 2015 Japan Series was the 66th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason championship series. The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, champions of the Pacific League, played the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, champions of the Central League. The Hawks ...

with Fukuoka.

2016–2020

On April 19, 2016, Niho underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

and missed the remainder of the year. Niho appeared in 16 games with the farm team in 2017, without playing for Fukuoka. On April 10, 2018, Niho pitched in the

Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently consis ...

against the

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Hokkaido. The Fighters also host a ...

for the first time in three years. For the 2018 season, he finished the regular season with a 1–0 record and 5.34 ERA with 4 holds, 1 save, and 17 strikeouts in 30 1/3 innings of work across 35 appearances. Niho won the

2018 Japan Series The 2018 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2018'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) 2018 season. The 69th edition of the Japan Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff betwee ...

with Fukuoka. In 2019, Niho finished the regular season with a 1–4 record and 3.99 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 38 1/3 innings across 8 games. He won the

2019 Japan Series The 2019 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2019'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) 2019 season. The 70th edition of the Japan Series, it was played from 19-23 October. Th ...

, his third championship victory of his career. In a match against the

on July 11, 2020, Niho pitched his longest outing of his career, going 7 innings to become the winning pitcher. In 2020, he finished the regular season with a 4–5 record and 4.92 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 56 2/3 innings of work across 12 games. He won the

2020 Japan Series The 2020 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2020'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) 2020 season. The 71st edition of the Japan Series, it was played from November 21 to 25. ...

against the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

, his fourth Japan Series win of his career. Niho made only 2 appearances for Fukuoka in 2021, posting a 4.76 ERA in 11.1 innings pitched.

Hanshin Tigers

On July 2, 2021, Niho was traded to the

in exchange for

Masahiro Nakatani is a professional Japanese baseball outfielder and first baseman of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He previously played in NPB for the Hanshin Tigers and the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. Early baseball career A native of Fukuoka, he began playi ...

Chiba Lotte Marines

On November 28, 2023, he signed a development contract with the

References

External links

Career statistics - NPB.ip
- Hanshin Tigers Official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Niho, Akira 1990 births Living people People from Yukuhashi, Fukuoka Baseball people from Fukuoka Prefecture Japanese expatriate baseball players in Puerto Rico Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks players Hanshin Tigers players Atenienses de Manatí (baseball) players